Split Fiction PC Hardware Guide
Official requirements explained
The official minimum CPU is an Intel Core i5-6600K or AMD Ryzen 5 2600X. That is a mid-range quad-core from several generations back, which we place in the older mainstream band. The minimum GPU is an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB or Radeon RX 470 4GB, roughly equal to today's GTX 1650 4GB. The minimum asks for 16GB of RAM and 85GB of storage, and the publisher does not require an SSD.
The official recommended CPU is an Intel Core i7-11700K or AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, a newer upper-mainstream processor. The recommended GPU is an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8GB or AMD Radeon 6700 XT 12GB, which sits in the upper mainstream band. RAM and storage stay the same at 16GB and 85GB, so the real jump is in the CPU and GPU.
In practice, the minimum tier is about getting the game running at lower settings, while the recommended tier is what the publisher expects for a more comfortable experience at higher detail. If your hardware only meets the minimum, expect to lower settings. If it meets the recommended tier, you have room to run medium-high settings without much compromise. The publisher does not list anything above the recommended tier.
The publisher did not list separate requirements for higher resolutions or ray tracing, so anything beyond the recommended tier is your own judgment call.
Recommended builds for three budgets
The entry build pairs an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super or RTX 3050 with an AMD Ryzen 5 3500X or Intel Core i5-10400F, and 16GB of RAM. It suits players on a tight budget who want to clear the official minimum and are willing to run lower-to-medium settings.
The mainstream build uses an RTX 3070, RX 6750 XT or RTX 4060 Ti 8GB with a Ryzen 5 5600 or 5600X and 16GB of RAM. This tier roughly reaches the official recommended level and suits most players who want medium-high settings at 1080p or 1440p. If you stream or keep a lot of other software open, 32GB gives you more headroom.
The high-end build uses an RTX 5070, RX 9070 or RTX 4080 with a Ryzen 7 7800X3D or Core i7-14700K and 32GB of RAM. It is well above the official recommendation and suits players who want higher resolutions, higher settings and more consistent frame delivery. For this game, the mainstream build is usually enough; the high-end build mainly buys extra room for higher resolution and detail.
Graphics settings with the biggest impact
In a game like this, with heavy action and varied environments, the settings that usually cost the most are shadows, volumetric lighting and fog, scene detail density, and view distance. Shadow and volumetric quality are expensive but the visual gain is often small, so medium is a sensible starting point. Raising view distance means more distant objects are drawn, which is a real load on the GPU, so trim it if your card is not top-tier.
Ray tracing is another costly option. If your GPU supports it, try enabling one or two effects and judge whether the visual difference is worth the cost. On a lower-tier card, turning it off is usually the practical choice.
DLSS, FSR and XeSS are general upscaling techniques. They render at a lower internal resolution and reconstruct the image at your target resolution, which reduces GPU load with limited loss of sharpness. If your card supports one of them, enable it and pick the quality mode that looks acceptable to you.
Laptops and handheld PCs
Laptop GPUs often share names with desktop parts, such as RTX 3070 Laptop GPU and the desktop RTX 3070, but they are not equivalent. Laptop versions are limited by power and cooling, so their clocks and performance are usually noticeably lower. When comparing against the official requirements, use the exact laptop GPU model rather than the desktop rating. Plugging in the power adapter, setting the power mode to high performance and keeping vents clear all make a real difference.
Handheld PCs such as the Steam Deck or ROG Ally are low-power platforms that typically run at lower resolutions and reduced settings, often with built-in performance tuning and upscaling. We have no verified data for this game on handhelds, so these are general suggestions only: lower the resolution and the costly settings such as shadows first, then adjust the power limit to balance battery life and thermals.
Storage and memory
The official storage requirement is 85GB. Leave enough room for the install and for future updates, which can grow the files. Both the minimum and recommended RAM are 16GB. Use dual-channel configuration, with memory sticks in the matching slots, so the CPU and GPU can exchange data more efficiently. If you stream or run other software at the same time, 32GB will be more comfortable.
The publisher does not require an SSD, but an SSD clearly shortens load times and the waits between areas. An HDD will still run the game, just with slower loading. Installing on an SSD is recommended, and keeping roughly 10% of the drive free gives the system and the game enough room for temporary files.